How Local Variables in Forth Work --- Using Apple’s Open Firmware Implementation

Contents:
How to try out these code examples
Declaring local variables
Setting local variables
Setting a local variables&#146; value automatically
Obtaining local variables&#146; values

How to try out these code examples

The following example code may be entered and ran in Apple&#146;s Open Firmware. In order to access Open Firmware, just hold down Command-Option-O-F while you boot your pre-Intel Mac. PowerPC iMacs and PowerBooks, iBooks, PowerMac G3&#146;s, G4&#146;s, and G5&#146;s all have Open Firmware built-in.

Declaring local variables:

Place curly braces next to the word name. The curly braces must be on the same line as the word&#146;s name. The semicolon is optional. The semicolon lets the system know that the variables following it will not be initializing their values to the values that would have been popped from the stack.

Example 1

: myword { ; cat dog }
;

Omitting the semicolon will initialize the local variable&#146;s values to values popped from the stack. Make sure the stack has enough values in it before proceeding.

Setting local variables:

The word &#147;->&#148; (hyphen greater-than) is used to set the values of local variables.

Example 2

: myword { ; cat dog }
4 -> cat
5 -> dog
;

In the above example, the numbers are each pushed into the stack first. Then the -> word pops a value out of the stack and sets each variable&#146;s value to a popped value. If a value is already in the stack, the following code would work as well: -> cat (The 4 has been omitted).

Setting a local variable&#146;s value automatically

When you don&#146;t use the semicolon in the local variable declaration, the variables get their value from the stack. The order is the last variable declared is set to the last value pushed on the stack.

Example 3

stack before myword is called ...

3 <---- top of stack
2
1

: myword { one two three }
cr ." one = " one .
cr ." two = " two .
cr ." three = " three .
;

after myword is called ...

one = 1
two = 2
three = 3

Obtaining a local variable&#146;s value

To push a local variable&#146;s value onto the stack, just enter a local variable&#146;s name in a word.